AI drafts replies to your emails
AI writes a reply draft for every new email — you just review and hit send.
How it works
Trigger: Gmail — new email in your inbox
- Receive the new email.
- Ask an AI model to write a short, polite reply in your tone.
- Save it as a draft in the same thread — nothing is sent automatically.
Diagram
Trigger App AI
Build it
Pick your tool — same automation, step by step.
Copy and paste straight into an n8n canvas (Ctrl+V), or download and use Import from File. Then connect your own credentials and replace every YOUR_… placeholder. AI steps use a Claude model node — swap it for OpenAI, Gemini or Ollama if you prefer.
Show code (139 lines)
{
"name": "AI drafts replies to your emails (Flowngn)",
"nodes": [
{
"parameters": {
"content": "## AI drafts replies to your emails\nAI writes a reply draft for every new email — you just review and hit send.\n\n**Setup**\n1. Open each node and connect your own credentials.\n2. Replace every YOUR_… placeholder.\n3. Test once, then activate.\n\nFree template from Flowngn",
"height": 260,
"width": 340
},
"id": "292cf932-28a7-4ab7-a5b2-acbc1029bdae",
"name": "Setup notes",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"typeVersion": 1,
"position": [
-420,
-60
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"pollTimes": {
"item": [
{
"mode": "everyMinute"
}
]
},
"simple": false,
"filters": {
"q": "category:primary"
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "292cf932-28a7-4ab7-a5b2-acbc1029bdae",
"name": "New email",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.gmailTrigger",
"typeVersion": 1.2,
"position": [
0,
0
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"promptType": "define",
"text": "=Write a short, friendly reply to this email as YOUR_NAME. Match the sender's language. Don't invent facts, prices or dates — use [brackets] where I need to fill something in. Reply with the email body only.\n\nFrom: {{ $json.from.text }}\nSubject: {{ $json.subject }}\n\n{{ $json.text }}"
},
"id": "292cf932-28a7-4ab7-a5b2-acbc1029bdae",
"name": "Write reply",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.chainLlm",
"typeVersion": 1.5,
"position": [
300,
0
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"model": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "claude-sonnet-5",
"mode": "list"
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "292cf932-28a7-4ab7-a5b2-acbc1029bdae",
"name": "Claude model",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatAnthropic",
"typeVersion": 1.3,
"position": [
300,
220
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"resource": "draft",
"operation": "create",
"subject": "=Re: {{ $('New email').item.json.subject }}",
"message": "={{ $json.text }}",
"options": {
"threadId": "={{ $('New email').item.json.threadId }}",
"sendTo": "={{ $('New email').item.json.from.value[0].address }}"
}
},
"id": "292cf932-28a7-4ab7-a5b2-acbc1029bdae",
"name": "Save as draft",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.gmail",
"typeVersion": 2.1,
"position": [
600,
0
]
}
],
"connections": {
"New email": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Write reply",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Write reply": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Save as draft",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Claude model": {
"ai_languageModel": [
[
{
"node": "Write reply",
"type": "ai_languageModel",
"index": 0
}
]
]
}
},
"pinData": {},
"settings": {
"executionOrder": "v1"
},
"meta": {
"templateCredsSetupCompleted": false
},
"tags": []
}In Make, create a new scenario and add these modules in order:
- Gmail › Watch Emails (search: category:primary)
- Anthropic Claude › Create a Prompt (or OpenAI › Create a Completion)
- Gmail › Create a Draft
- Every module run uses Make operations — the free plan includes a monthly quota.
- Module and step names can differ slightly as Make and Zapier update their apps.
In Zapier, create a new Zap and add these steps in order:
- Gmail — New Email Matching Search (category:primary)
- Anthropic (Claude) — Send Message (or ChatGPT — Conversation)
- Gmail — Create Draft
- Zaps with more than two steps need a paid Zapier plan.
- Module and step names can differ slightly as Make and Zapier update their apps.
Tips
- Limit the trigger with a search like category:primary to skip newsletters.
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